Da joined the Army like many of his generation. He arrived in England in November of 1944 and in Belgium in December, a month. His unit was told that the post was a piece of cake, only Grandfather and teenagers in the area. At night, the troops could hear the sounds over heavy machinery moving. when reported, they were it just false sound to trick them. In reality, the Germans were preparing for the largest offensive of the War. A week after he arrived, the Battle of the Bulge began. He, along with 7,000 other allied soldiers were captured and forced marched 35 miles to rail depot to be transported to POW camps.